The Running Back
by LovelyMagickUnicorn
Summary: Quinn Fabray is the popular cheerleader, and the thing with cheerleaders is that they only date jocks. That's a bit of a problem, but Rachel has the perfect solution. Join the football team.
1. Chapter 1

AN: All right, so I've wanted to write a fic where Rachel becomes part of the football team for a long time. And I've finally started one. I know that it's not the most original idea and I know that there's a bunch of fics like this but this it my take on it. And I hope you like it.

* * *

"Please."

"No."

"Please."

"I said no."

Rachel pouted. Usually she would have gotten what she wanted by now but Noah was being very reluctant. She couldn't really understand why. What she was asking for wasn't very difficult. It wasn't as though she wanted him to get her on the team. Rachel just wanted an audition… er, that is to say a tryout. Yes, a tryout not an audition. Rachel had to remember that. She scrambled up to him and put on the saddest face that she could muster. That particular face, if Rachel said so herself, was pretty damn sad. "Pretty please," she pleaded.

She watched Noah groan and shift his gaze away. He ran a hand through his mohawk and rubbed the back of his neck. Rachel could hear him muttering curses under his breath. He glanced in her direction before quickly looking away once more. "Why do you even want to join?" he asked without looking at her.

"Because I want to be popular." Her practiced response came out quickly. Being as prepared as she was, Rachel had anticipated this question and had rehearsed in the mirror to find the best answer. That, combined with her superb acting skills, surely would have given a convincing performance. But as Rachel quickly learned, that was not the case. Noah was looking at her with a contemplative expression on his face. Normally Rachel would have been ecstatic as Noah hardly ever did any thinking with his head, but not this time. She wondered if maybe waiting a second or two before answering would have made any difference. Of course that was a moot point now.

"What's the real reason?"

"That is the real reason," Rachel insisted. She should have been able to fool him as she had enough talent to fool just about anyone, but her minor mistake had already convinced Noah that she was lying. He glanced at her before shaking his head in disappointment.

"If you don't want to tell me, fine." He spun on heel and began walking away. "I didn't want to piss off your dads' anyway. See ya!"

"Wait!" Rachel screamed as she chased after him. She slipped past him and extended her arms out to block his path. "Don't go, please don't go," she begged. "I'll tell you, okay. I'll tell you." Noah groaned as he dropped his head. He started to massage his forehead, as though he had a headache, and then made a gesture for her to elaborate. Rachel took a moment to think her words over but she realized that the direct approach was probably the best. "I want to try to impress Quinn Fabray." The moment the words left her lips Rachel closed her eyes tightly.

She waited for whatever reaction he would have, but she heard nothing. Rachel reopened her eyes and found that Noah was still processing what she had told him. After a moment he spoke. "Quinn Fabray?" Rachel nodded. "As in, the Quinn Fabray? As in Head Cheerleader, President of the Celibacy Club Quinn Fabray?" Rachel nodded once more. Noah resumed thinking. "Damn, that'd be hot." Rachel punched him on the arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't be a pig Noah, I'm being serious."

"So am I," Noah pointed out. Rachel scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she dramatically spun on her heel. "What? I am being serious. The two of you would be hot together." And the thing was that Rachel knew that he wasn't lying. Of course Noah being Noah, he would instantly think that the idea of two girls together would be hot. But ignoring that Rachel would have to admit that she and Quinn would make quite the couple. She let her shoulders slacken and turned back to her friend.

"So are you going to help me or not?"

"If this is about you getting in Quinn Fabray's pants, then fuck yeah I am!" Rachel punched him again. "Ow!" He rubbed his arm shot Rachel a look. "You need to stop doing that. You should actually be thanking me."

"Sorry," she apologized. "And thank you." Noah seemed quite pleased with himself and Rachel was tempted to hit him once more. Instead she hugged him and let him have free choice over which movie the two of them would watch. Noah was very much the polar opposite of Rachel but they were the best of friends and he was always there for her when she needed him. He ended up picking an action movie that had little to no plot. Normally Rachel would have been annoyed but she was otherwise preoccupied with her thoughts.

She was anxious. Her big personality didn't always help her during auditions and she really hoped that her attempt at joining the football team wouldn't end in a similar fashion. After Noah left, Rachel decided to practice her game face in her bathroom mirror. She had spent weeks preparing for this opportunity. She had watched movies, shows, and documentaries that related to football. There was a lot to learn, but thankfully Rachel was an excellent student.

It didn't take long for her to catch on to the rules and to memorize the positions and their respective roles. And it was with that knowledge that she concluded that she would be best suited to be a running back. People wouldn't guess it but Rachel was pretty fast, and she knew that her petite stature would help her avoid the opposing team. Rachel had been able to figure out that much, but she was having a bit more trouble with her game face.

Rachel snarled at her mirror and tried to look mean, but it was hard. Rachel wasn't mean. Sure, she knew that she could be bossy sometimes, but that wasn't the same thing as being mean. She decided to go for a different approach and thought of something that would make her mad. She imagined being rejected after auditioning for the role of Fannie Brice. Her nostrils flared and growled. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked silly. She sounded even sillier. At that moment Rachel was very glad that her room was soundproof. She would have been so embarrassed if either of her dads' had heard her.

She went back into her room and checked the time. It was just about to hit nine so she decided to get ready for bed. She had managed to talk Noah into speaking with Coach Beiste the following day, and as long as she agreed then Rachel would have her tryout right then and there. A good nights' rest was just what Rachel needed. She performed her nightly ritual which took a precisely a half hour and curled up under her covers.

The following day at school seemed to go on forever. Early on in the day Noah had managed to talk with Coach Beiste. He was able to convince her to give his friend a shot, but he happened to leave out the little detail about his friend being tiny, little Rachel Berry. Rachel was upset about that, but he assured her that Coach Beiste wouldn't care. There was little that Rachel could do but believe him. She at least had a chance and that was better than she could have hoped for.

As the day went on, she started to get excited and her school work suffered. Rachel was always so attentive in class, but all she could think about was scoring that touchdown and having her cheerleader girlfriend jump into her arms. And all the times that she saw Quinn throughout the day didn't help. Rachel couldn't keep her eyes off her. Everything about her, from her golden blond hair to her hazel eyes and firm ass, was perfect. The fact that she was somehow still single always amazed Rachel. Not that she minded of course. In fact, Rachel liked to think that Quinn was waiting for her to make a move.

Regardless of whether or not she was though, Rachel was determined to sweep Quinn off her feet. As the day came to a close, she headed off for the football field. Noah was waiting for her near the locker rooms. He was carrying a set of football equipment and a practice jersey. Much to Rachel's delight, it had the number one on it. She took the gear from him and was surprised to find that is was slightly heavier than she had anticipated. Rachel buckled forward a few inches but quickly regained her balance. Noah groaned and shook his head.

"I'm fine," Rachel told him, but he simply continued to shake his head before jogging to the field.

"Just get changed," he called out to her. "I'll introduce you to Coach after."

Rachel did as she was told and brought the gear into the girls' locker room. It was mostly empty, but there were a few Cheerios grabbing their pompoms. They looked at her strangely as they left, whispering among themselves. Rachel ignored them and checked to see if Quinn was around. She wasn't. She shouldn't have been though as she was Captain and thus expected to the first one out. And that was probably for the best because Rachel was very comfortable with the idea of Quinn seeing her while she changed. Maybe once they got a few months into their relationship she'd be okay with it, but at the moment she was feeling self-conscious.

She waited until she was sure that everyone was gone before getting undressed. Rachel put on the equipment that Noah had gotten her and double checked everything to make sure everything was secure. She then went to the restroom to give herself a once over in the mirror. If she had to be honest, she would say that she looked pretty weird but she looked good. The gear fit quite nicely and with her pads and her helmet, Rachel felt invincible. She felt confident that everything would work out just as planned.

Rachel exited the locker room with her head held high. She marched out to the football field where the team was already assembled. A few of the players saw her coming and looked her way. They turned to each other and started talking, with confusion etched on their faces. Noah looked skeptical as he watched her approach, but true to his word he walked Coach Beiste over to introduce the two of them. "So Coach, this is my friend, Rachel Berry." Rachel smiled widely and extended her hand out in front of her.

Coach Beiste looked Rachel over from top to bottom, sizing her up. She looked unsure, but she reached out for Rachel's hand and gave it a nice, firm shake. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Coach," Rachel greeted in turn, as she fought the urge to shake the pain out of her hand. Coach Beiste had one strong of a grip.

"Puck here tells me that you want to try out for the team," she said as she gave Noah a hard pat on the back.

"Yes I do." Rachel nodded eagerly. "I'd like to audition for running back," she quickly said before she could correct herself. Noah made a pained sound while some of his teammates chuckled. "I mean try out. I'd like to try out for running back." Not even a minute in and she had already embarrassed herself. Rachel expected to get turned down. She wouldn't have blamed Coach Beiste, but all Coach Beiste did was glare at her team. They shut up quickly.

Once she had put them in their place, Coach Beiste brought her attention back to Rachel. "All right, let's see what you can do." Rachel's eyes lit up and she almost jumped up and hugged Coach Beiste, but she was able to stop herself. Coach got practice started and told Rachel to get with the offence.

"Yes ma'am!"

"It's Coach no ma'am."

"Yes ma'am- er, I mean Coach."

Rachel and Noah went over to get in the huddle with the offence. As they strode over, Noah gave Rachel a pat on the back. When they got close they heard the quarterback, Finn Hudson going over the play. Finn got them caught up and once everyone was set they broke the huddle.

"A girl playing football, huh?" Finn pondered aloud before taking his spot. "Cool."

Rachel laughed. "Cool," she agreed.

She got into place and focused on her goal. She was going to prove to everyone what she was capable of. And she was going to make Quinn Fabray her girlfriend. The ball was snapped and Rachel ran to her right. Finn handed her the ball and she took it. Rachel continued to run but found two defenders right in front of her. Her heart started to race. They were both three times her size. She was going to get crushed. But she kept her cool. She juked to the left and one of the defenders zoomed right past her.

The other one was still coming though. Rachel halted her movements and spun to the right, confusing the other defender enough to give her a chance to run ahead of him. She used her speed to keep her distance. Not once did she look back for fear of finding that the defense was right on her tail. Rachel kept running, with only one thought on her mind. Well, actually two thoughts. The first was Quinn. And the second was to not get killed. She just kept going and going and going. And then she realized it. She had gotten to the end zone.

Rachel turned around to find the entire team staring at her in disbelief. She felt good. No, she felt great. She leapt up and spiked the ball before performing a little victory dance. Once she was done, she saw Coach Beiste approach. Rachel immediately told herself to calm down. She smiled up at her and nervously asked, "So, what do you think?"

"What do I think? What do I think?" She let the words hang and then looked as though she were thinking things over. She then gave a strong pat on the back that nearly knocked her over. "I think we have a new running back!"

"I'm on the team?!"

"You're on the team. Congratulations."

"Thank you!" Unable to stop herself, Rachel leapt up and hugged her Coach. A second later she pulled back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Don't worry about it, Rachel. Just get back on the field."

"Yes, Coach."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: So first I want to thank you all for supporting this fic with favorites, follows and reviews. As I already said I've wanted to write Football Faberry fic for a while and I'm really hoping that it does well. I know that it most likely will as there are a lot of us who thought that Lea/Rachel was adorable in her football uniform, but even then I want to know that people like this fic and not just because it has a football theme. Enjoy.

* * *

Football practice went on for a few hours. By the end of it, Rachel was covered in sweat, dirt and success, but mostly success. Although Coach Beiste had already let her join the team, Rachel still had a lot to prove. They ended up running a lot of running plays to test out Rachel's skills. She proved to be superb when going to the outside. All she needed to do was get a little space between her and the defenders and she was gone.

Sadly, she wasn't as good when going through the middle. It was easy to tell just by looking at her, but Rachel simply lacked the upper body strength to shove the defensive tackles out of the way. Her small stature did help in trying to slip under them, but if she stood any chance of consistently breaking through their defensive line she would need some help from her blockers.

Rachel ended up getting hit a couple of times, and she was sure that she'd have a bruise or two in the morning but she felt good. She headed back for the girl's locker room to get changed and to clean up. It was empty when she got in because Cheerios' practice was always longer than football practice. It gave Rachel some privacy to take off her football gear. She didn't know exactly how long they'd be out there though so she decided to try and be quick about changing.

She moved swiftly, removing her helmet, jersey and pads. She smelt a bit, but not too bad. For a moment she considered whether or not she take a shower or just head home. But before she could make a decision, Rachel heard the door swing open. She could hear the Cheerios chatting so Rachel hastily grabbed her top and put it on. They started passing by her just as she had gotten it straightened out. She would just have to shower at home.

After a few moments the Cheerios had all reached their respective lockers. Some of them had lockers in the same row as Rachel, and that made her a bit self-conscious. She resumed changing and tried to pretend that the other girls weren't around. Once she was done, she got her things in order and headed for the door. Just as she reached it, the door swung open. Enter Quinn Fabray, and Rachel's knees buckled. Despite her hours of practice Quinn didn't have a drop of sweat on her. Her skin was flawless. She was breathtaking.

Rachel opened her mouth and said hi, or at least she tried to. She had never been this close to Quinn before, never been able to see her beauty in such detail. For once in her life, Rachel Berry was completely and utterly speechless which was just great. As far as first impressions went, this had to be the worst. But it wasn't because Quinn didn't even seem to notice her awestruck behavior. "Excuse me," she said politely before walking past Rachel.

She slowly turned with each step Quinn took, carefully following her movements. Rachel watched as she walked away. "No, don't go," she whimpered out, but Quinn was already too far away to hear, which was a good thing of course. She hastily made her exit to avoid making a bigger fool of herself. Once she got outside she found that it was getting late. She would need to get home soon, but unfortunately Rachel didn't own a car.

Noah would give her a ride though, so long as he was still around, which he mostly likely was as he would almost always stick around for a while whenever Rachel left school late. He would always have a number of different explanations for why he would do so, but Rachel knew better. She knew that he stayed around because her cared and wanted to make sure that she got home safe. She always thanked him. Rachel headed for the parking lot, and just as expected Noah was there, leaning against his car. He pushed himself up and strode over to her.

"You sure took your damn time, didn't you?" he complained playfully.

"It's not easy looking this good," Rachel joked back; if only avoid having to tell her best friend of her most embarrassing behavior in the locker room. He would never let her live it down. Noah chuckled and shook his head. He opened the passenger side door and held his hand out to help Rachel into her seat. Rachel took it graciously. "Ooh, this is a surprise. And here I thought that you didn't know the first thing about chivalry."

"Hey, I can be chivalrous," Noah argued. "It just takes too much effort," he reasoned. He shut the door and walked over the driver's side. He got in and started up the car. He was about to back out of his parking spot, but before he did he put on his seat beat. Rachel smiled at him proudly. Noah scoffed at her. "I'm only putting this thing on so you won't bother me about it later."

As Noah started to drive Rachel reached for the radio and turned it on. She flipped through the stations, searching for something that she like and stopped once she heard the powerful vocals of Celine Dion. She turned up the volume and mouthed out the lyrics. Beside her, Noah cringed. The moment he had a chance he changed the station to something her preferred. Rachel gasped at as her music was suddenly replaced with some form of rock that had lots of yelling in it.

"Hey, I was listening to that!" she yelled as she reached for the radio to switch it back to Celine.

"And I've told you before to not touch my radio," Noah reminded. The two of them fought for a while to see who would control the radio, but Noah eventually lost as he was forced to focus on the road. Rachel cheered for her victory. It was now one thousand five hundred sixty two to zero, or something like that. Rachel had kind of lost count. Noah tried to look annoyed, but Rachel could see the faintest of smiles upon his face.

"So I did pretty well today," Rachel asked him once she was done with her victory celebration.

"You were all right," he answered, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"All right? All right? Didn't you see me? I flew by all you guys," she bragged. "No one could catch me. I think I just might be the best player on the team." Sure, maybe it was a bit early to say something like that but Rachel thought that maybe her words were true. She may not have been the biggest or the strongest but she made up for that with speed and agility. So long as she stuck to her strengths, Rachel was sure to become the star of the football team in no time.

And after that, it would only be a matter of time before Quinn Fabray was her girlfriend. Everything, not counting her pathetic encounter with Quinn, was going exactly as planned. Nothing could stop her now.

"Berry, what the hell was that?!" Coach Beiste scre

* * *

amed after Rachel dropped her eighth catch in a row. Rachel tried to apologize but Coach wasn't hearing it. "Just get back in formation," she told her. "Run it again!" Rachel nodded quickly and ran back to her spot. It was supposed to be a simple screen pass. All she had to do was run to the side, Finn would pass it to her and once she had it all Rachel had to do was run for the end zone while Noah and a receiver named Mike blocked defenders for her.

The only issue was that Rachel just couldn't get the ball in her grasp. A couple of times she had gotten lucky, but catching one pass out of every five or six wouldn't cut it in a real game. Noah could sense her anxiety and gave her a reassuring pat on the back. Rachel smiled at him in thanks as he got into position. Rachel readied herself for Finn to start the play. The moment he did, she darted left. Her eyes scanned the field, checking for defenders and occasionally to look back at Finn to see if were ready to throw her way.

Finn took a few steps back. Once of the linebackers had made his way around the offensive line. He was making a beeline towards Finn. He almost had him when Finn turned to Rachel. He threw the ball at her and she leapt up. She had the ball by her fingertips and then felt it slip right through her grip. Coach Beiste blew on her whistle and bellowed, "Again!" Rachel sighed and retrieved the ball. She tossed it over to Finn, nearly missing, and groaned before retaking her spot.

"Hey, it'll be okay," Finn told her. "You'll get it next time."

She didn't. Much of practice went the same way. It was disheartening. And the more Rachel failed, the more insistent Coach Beiste got over running passing plays. She seemed determined to improve Rachel's catching skills. It was either that or she just wanted to make Rachel feel awful. If it was the latter than she surely succeeded. By the end of practice Rachel had held onto the ball for no more than a few minutes.

Because of that, she hadn't gotten tackled even once. But she would have preferred to have taken the hits rather than have herself be embarrassed in front of Quinn. But if the previous day had been any indication then maybe Quinn hadn't even noticed at all. For the first time ever, Rachel was actually glad that she was practically invisible to Quinn. Despite that though, she didn't want to risk facing her in the locker room.

Rachel made a hasty retreat after changing and went straight for Noah's car. He wasn't there yet when she arrived to she lean back against it and waited for him. Slowly, she watched as other players from the football team made their ways to their cars. They came out mostly in groups. Some were chatting; laughing. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe they were laughing at her, thinking that made her feel sad. She wanted to curl up into a ball, but doing so would get her skirt dirty.

"Hey, you okay?" Rachel turned around. Behind her was Noah. He looked concerned.

"Where have you been?" she asked briskly.

"I was changing," he reminded her in a joking tone but he quickly found that she wasn't amused. "And you didn't answer my question." Rachel looked him straight in the eye, her arms crossed over her chest. She had to stay strong, and she was prepared to do just that but instead she broke down.

"I suck," she admitted, her eyes falling down to her feet. Noah placed a hand under her chin and lifted her head up. He was about to say something sweet and comforting, but then he stopped and started to think, as though he was only just registering what Rachel had said. It took Rachel less than a second to know what he was imagining. She pulled away from him and smacked him on the arm. "Not like that, you jerk!"

"Ow!" Noah started rubbing his arm, feigning hurt as he laughed.

"Jeez, do you always have to be such a pervert?"

"Oh, you know you love me for it," he said as he took her into his arms. "Besides, it got you smiling, didn't it?" And on that he was right. Rachel didn't feel a bit better, but her problems weren't solved yet. And as though reading her mind Noah spoke up, "And don't worry, we'll teach you how to catch." Rachel groaned through her smile.

"Why can't I just run?" she complained. "I'm good at that."

"Not my call Jew babe, not my call."

"I know," Rachel sighed. "I guess it would be a good idea to round out my skills, right?"

"That's the spirit. Now let's get you home." He opened up the door for her and helped her get inside. Rachel buckled up while Noah got into the driver's seat. He started up the car and then turned to her and said, "You know, Quinn's not going to be too interested in you if you suck." Rachel hit him. "Ow! I meant at football," he clarified. "She wouldn't be interested in you if sucked at football." Rachel rolled her eyes. She knew what he meant. "But don't worry; I talked with Finn and Sam. Sam's our backup quarterback. Anyway, I talked with them and they're both cool with doing some extra practice with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I kind of hate to say it, but I think you might just be our best shot at having a winning season." A beaming smile made its way onto Rachel's lips upon hearing Noah's compliment, and at the same time Noah's face fell. "Fuck, I should have never told you that." Rachel scowled and once more punched Noah on the arm. "Stopping hitting me woman!"


	3. Chapter 3

AN: So as I can well imagine, a lot of you have been waiting for Quinn to have more presence in this fic and while the Faberry interaction in this chapter is fairly minimal, Quinn will become featured more prominently starting in the next chapter.

* * *

It was after school, after football practice to be more precise, and Rachel, Noah, Finn and Sam were the only people on the field. The Cheerios were in the gym for one reason or another and the rest of the football team was long gone. Rachel was eternally grateful that Finn and Sam had stayed behind. She didn't know either one of them very well so it meant a lot to her that they'd go out of their way to help her practice catching. "It's what teammates do," Sam had told her, and she immediately knew that she would like him.

They started off practicing a curl route. It was Noah's idea. There was no real reason to do so because Rachel would never have to run a curl route, but his reasoned that it would be a good starting point as she would actually be facing the quarterback when he threw her the ball. Now Noah was never really thought things through, but he did have a point so Rachel couldn't argue. All she had to do was run straight, as though running a fly route, but then stop and turn towards the quarterback abruptly. It seemed simple enough, especially after Noah gave her a demonstration.

"All right, you think you can do that?"

"Yeah."

Rachel got into position, standing off to the side of the quarterback as opposed to her normal spot behind him. She looked over at Finn who gave her a thumbs up. She could do this. She could. "Hut. Hut. Hike!" he yelled as though they were actually in a game. Rachel imagined the other players all around them, the fans on the bleachers. She could hear them roaring, cheering for her. Her feet began to move and in seconds Rachel was darting down the field.

She ran forward for ten or so yards and immediately spun to face Finn. His eyes flew in her direction he threw the ball right at her. Rachel reached up to grab it. She felt it in her hands but she couldn't get a proper hold of it. The ball slipped right through her fingertips. It hadn't hit the floor yet so Rachel tried once more to grasp onto it, but she managed to knock it away and fall down flat on her face. She heard someone groan, but she didn't know if it was her or one of the three boys with her.

Rachel pushed herself up to her knees and right in front of her was Noah. He reached out a hand and helped pull her up to her feet. "You almost had it," he assured her. "Just you wait, in no time it'll be second nature." Rachel nodded her agreement and got back into formation. They ran the route again with similar results. But Rachel wouldn't give up. The future of her relationship, that hadn't even started yet, depended on her being able to learn how to catch.

The day grew long with Rachel trying different passing routes as Finn and Sam threw the ball at her. She managed to catch a few, but not nearly enough to boost her confidence. There was also the fact that in a real game there would be other players trying to swat the ball away. Noah stayed supportive though, cheering Rachel on despite her failures. It helped keep her morale up. It was also nice that there was no one else on the field.

But of course, just as luck would have it, at that very thought Rachel saw the Cheerios approaching. Quinn was there front and center. She froze mid-play and almost tripped over her own feet. "Rach, are you okay?" she heard Noah call. He started to walk to her but Rachel held a hand out behind her, telling him to halt. It was reasonable for Quinn to not have noticed her when the entire team was on the field, but now that there were only four of them she was certain to be seen. And the last thing that Rachel needed was to have the guys fussing over her because she didn't know what she was doing.

Her heart began to race. She looked over to the boys and then back to the Cheerios. Noah followed her line of sight and he instantly understood. He turned to Rachel for confirmation and she nodded for them to continue. She got back into place and prayed that she didn't just make the biggest mistake of her life. After giving Rachel and Noah a strange look Finn handed the ball to Sam. Sam took his spot. "You ready?" he called. Rachel nodded. She was as ready as she would ever be. "Hut. Hut. Hike!"

Rachel raced forward at top speed. She was tired, but seeing Quinn had given her a second wind. She looked back at Sam just as he lobbed the ball at her. The ball flew towards her but it was high up. Rachel didn't know if she would be able to reach it, but she had to try. She leapt up into the air and extended her arms out for the ball. She could just feel it, but like so many times before the ball was slipping.

It was going to fall, but Rachel held on and pulled it in close to her chest. Her feet touched the ground and she stumbled forward. It was all very dramatic, and was to be well expected when it came to someone like Rachel. She could have sworn that she had heard a gasp during that split second when she knew that she was going to hit the floor. But her feet kept upright and she was good. Rachel felt good. She felt great. She was so happy. She looked over towards the Cheerios to gauge Quinn's reaction and then frowned.

Quinn hadn't noticed. Her back was turned. She was busy giving instructions. Rachel groaned. "Hey, what's wrong? That was great!" Rachel didn't want to tell him, and she tried not to look over at Quinn again but apparently she did because a moment later Noah was looking in Quinn's direction too. "Ah, don't worry about that," he told her. "So what if she missed one good catch? There'll be others, right?"

"Of course there will be," Rachel said with a bright smile. The two of them headed back down the field but were met halfway by Finn and Sam who had both just recovered from their states of shock. They cheered and lifted Rachel up onto their shoulders, causing her to let out a squeal. Noah laughed at her, and if she was several feet in the air Rachel would have hit him. Their little celebration caused a bit of a commotion and it didn't take long before everyone in the area was looking in their direction.

Briefly, Quinn's eyes met Rachel's. She smiled and she appeared to be giggling, but before Rachel could make sure Finn and Sam were already placing her back down on the ground. Quinn gathered up the Cheerios and they huddled up around her. Her face could no longer be seen unless Rachel was back up on Finn and Sam's shoulders, but she wasn't about to ask them to lift her up again. Putting on a smile, Rachel grabbed the boys so that they could keep on practicing.

Maybe it was the pressure of knowing that Quinn was so close by, but somehow Rachel's performance improved. She didn't catch every pass thrown her way but she was far more consistent, and after every successful catch she'd casually glance over to where the Cheerios were practicing. Quinn was always busy. She'd be stretching, giving orders, or performing their routine. It was a bit disappointing, especially since Rachel was doing far better but being able to see Quinn stretch was a fair compromise.

Rachel couldn't help but lick her lips. Of course Rachel loved Quinn for more than just her looks, but there was no denying that she was also the hottest girl in the school, perhaps even the world. Everything about her was just so sexy; from the way she wore her hair to voice and especially the smoldering look that she gave just before she… All right, okay so Rachel had never actually seen Quinn give a smoldering look before but she could guess that she'd look really hot.

Just thinking about it made Rachel's knees go weak. She shook away those thoughts and ran back to the guys. She tossed the ball back to Finn and go back into position. "Are you okay Rachel?" Sam asked, before Finn could get set.

"Yeah, fine," Rachel answered quickly before Finn got concerned as well. "Let's keep going." Finn simply shrugged, giving absolutely no impression that he found anything at all to be even the slightest bit suspicious. He got set and Rachel did as well.

"Hut. Hut. Hike!" Rachel darted down the field, running about a dozen or so yards before making a forty five degree turn towards the center of the field. She kept running and Finn threw the ball a few feet in front of her. Rachel ran up to it but was just a little too far away. It zoomed past her. "Sorry!" Finn called to her. "That was my bad. Let's try it again!" Rachel smiled at him and nodded before walking over to retrieve the ball. She got back into place and tossed it over to Finn.

They ran the route again and Rachel was able to get a catch, a sloppy looking catch, but a catch. It was progress, perhaps not enough for their first game, but Rachel was confident that she'd be able to improve before they got too far into the season. Of course, she kind of had to. They ran the route a few more times until Rachel was able to make ten catches in a row. Once she had, they went on to practice a similar route which had Rachel running in the opposite direction towards the sidelines and where the Cheerios were.

Their first attempt went smoothly with Rachel making a perfect catch. A brunette Cheerio, a junior whose name Rachel didn't know, smiled at her shyly and waved as her cheeks reddened. Rachel waved back, a tiny blush appearing on her cheeks. The brunette Cheerio smiled even wider but then a moment later Quinn called her to get her attention. She started to apologize and Rachel decided not to listen it. She ran back to the boys and hoped that her cheeks had returned to the natural color.

She couldn't tell if her cheeks were still red but if they were no one said anything about it. They ran the route a second time and the ball seemed to fall perfectly in Rachel's hands, but then it slipped out and rolled away. Rachel sighed and chased after it. She followed it for a few feet but then stopped in her tracks when she saw someone squat down to pick it. She glanced up to see who the person it and her heart skipped a beat at seeing Quinn's pretty face. Quinn got up and closed the short distance between them. "Here," she said, extending the football out in front of her. Slowly, Rachel reached out for it. She opened her mouth to say thanks but not a single sound escaped her lips. Quinn didn't seem to mind though. She just smiled before returning to her Cheerios, once again leaving a speechless Rachel behind.

Rachel couldn't believe it. Twice now she had made a fool of herself in front of Quinn. She had always been so confident; not once did she ever experience stage fright. And yet when it came to Quinn, Rachel couldn't even find it in herself to say something as simple as hi. That's all she needed, one simple word so she could introduce herself, and then from there everything would fall into place. It wouldn't take long before Quinn fell for her charm. Quinn would find her witty and cute and funny. She would think that she was the perfect girlfriend. Rachel was sure of that.

Maybe some preparation was all she needed. Yes, that made sense. Practice did make perfect, which was why she was practicing with Finn and Sam and also why she would sing every day for when she would eventually hit Broadway. It seemed a little silly, but there was no harm in trying it out. She gave Quinn once last look before heading back to the guys. Quinn was stretching again, but this time Rachel couldn't get the image out of her head.

Her cheeks were flushed when she got back to Noah. She was glad when he didn't say anything. Her interaction with Quinn was clearly noticeable, and he seemed to know that things didn't go very well. But Rachel's mind wasn't focusing on that. In her head all she could see was Quinn stretching. Those tone defined legs. Oh how Rachel wanted to touch them, kiss them. She shook her head. She needed to focus. She needed to focus… on Quinn's legs. No! Not on Quinn's legs.

"Hut." Focus. "Hut." On Quinn's legs. No! "Hike!"

Rachel burst into a full sprint, the sight of those legs and a perfectly curved behind clear in her mind. She just kept running, just kept going. That's all that Rachel could do. She ran her route, a curl route, the same route that they had started out with. Rachel went deeper than she had initially and then she came to a halt and spun around to face Finn. Their eyes met and he threw a bullet straight for her. Rachel steadied herself to catch.

But then she heard Quinn's voice in her ear. "Like what you see?" she husked.

For a split second Rachel glanced over in Quinn's direction, but then she reminded herself that she needed to focus. But it was too late. When she turned back the ball was too close for her to react. Still, Rachel tried to catch it but whizzed right through her hands and smacked her right on the head. Rachel stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. She began to lose consciousness and her eyes closed with the image of Quinn with a worried expression on her face being the last thing she saw.

* * *

AN: Okay, so please don't hate me for doing that to Rachel. She's not like seriously hurt or anything. Her ego is probably hurt the most.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Okay so this entire chapter is pretty much just Faberry interaction with a touch of Puckleberry bromance. Hopefully I don't disappoint.

* * *

Rachel's head hurt. And it didn't just hurt a little bit. It hurt a lot. Perhaps she was being a bit of a baby, especially she was officially a big tough football player but it hurt. She couldn't really remember what had happened. All she knew was that she wasn't on the field anymore. She seemed to lying on a bed. Her helmet was off and someone was pressing an ice pack to her forehead. Whoever the person was added a bit more pressure and Rachel winced in pain. "Ow."

"Sorry," an angelic voice apologized. She sounded beautiful. She sounded like… wait. Her eyes snapped open. Above her, Quinn was tending to her wound. Quinn pulled the ice pack away to better see Rachel's face. "Hey, are you feeling all right?" Stunned into silence, Rachel could only nod slowly. "That's good. You took quite a hit to the head. I was really scared." The memories came back to her. She was practicing and she had gotten distracted. The ball hit her and…

And Quinn had seen. Quinn had seen. Oh dear. Rachel didn't know how to feel; embarrassed because Quinn had witnessed her get knocked by a football or happy because Quinn was holding her hand. Wait, what? Rachel's eyes drifted down to her hand and found Quinn's hand tightly wrapped around her own. Quinn followed her gaze and then pulled her hand away.

"Sorry," she said again. "Like I said, I was really worried. I'm glad to see that you're okay Rachel."

Once more Rachel was stunned, but having recovered from her initial shock, she was able to speak. "You-you know who I am?" she asked, to which Quinn giggled.

"Of course I do. You're that cute, little girl decided to join the football team." Rachel's cheeks reddened. "Oh, did I embarrass you? I'm sorry," she apologized once more. "You really are cute." More than likely, Rachel's blush intensified. She tried to regain her composure and pushed herself up into a sitting position. As she did, Rachel scanned the area. She didn't quite know where she was. The room they were in looked like the nurse's office. Or at least it looked like _a_ nurse's office.

Rachel had never been sick a day in her life so there had never been an instant where she had to see the school nurse. She had passed by the place a few times though. Rachel knew what it looked like, and while the room they were in looked similar it clearly wasn't the same. "Where are we?" she asked, partially out of curiosity but mostly to change the subject.

"Oh, we're in Sue's secret first aid room."

"Sue's what?" Rachel knew that the Cheerios had a lot of funding but a secret room.

"Her secret first aid room," Quinn said once more. "Practice can get kind of rough some times. If any of us get hurt we go here. That's after we get yelled at of course. It's only supposed to be for Cheerios, but I made an exception for you." Rachel's heart swelled. Sure she had embarrassed herself but now Quinn was talking care of her, but she had also gone against Sue's word. At that thought Rachel started to worry.

"Won't you get in trouble?"

"I shouldn't, unless you tell. Sue's got this important conference call so I was in charge of the entire practice today. I'll be fine. Besides you should be worrying about yourself. How are you feeling?"

"Good."

"Great." Quinn got up and started walking away. Rachel almost called out to her but she stopped herself. She watched Quinn go over to a cabinet and search through it. After a few seconds she pulled out a bottle of water and a granola bar. She handed them both to Rachel. "Here."

"Thanks," Rachel said as she took the bottle and the granola bar. She unwrapped the granola bar and took a bite. She chewed slowly under Quinn's watchful eye. She still looked to be a bit worried and Rachel had to wonder, "Is there a bruise?"

"No," Quinn shook her head to Rachel's relief. "Your head looks fine." Quinn went back to the cabinet and got a granola bar and a bottle of water. She sat down on the bed next to Rachel and started to eat as well. They were silent for a while, both of them taking small bites out of their granola bars. Rachel needed to say something. She had to find something worth discussing but her mind came up blank. Small talk would be insufficient. Small talk was almost always insufficient.

Maybe a compliment; Rachel liked compliments and most likely Quinn would too. As she took a sip from her bottle, Rachel subtly gave Quinn a once over. There were plenty of things that she liked about Quinn, plenty of nice things that she could say about her. Of course not everything that she could have said would have been completely appropriate. She looked Quinn over, up and down, looking for her most perfect feature. Suddenly, Quinn turned to her, raising an eyebrow as Rachel scanned her legs. It took Rachel a moment or two to notice that she had been caught. She jumped back slightly and quickly tried to come up with an excuse.

"I um… I uh…" Rachel stumbled on her words, her eyes darting around as she searched for anything that could save her. They fell down to their feet. "I uh… like your shoes." She felt stupid as she said the words but they were enough to grab Quinn's attention. She looked down to her shoes with a puzzled look on her face. They were a simple white pair of tennis shoes. They were slightly dirty, but it was clear that Quinn had taken good care of them. There wasn't anything special about them.

"Uh… thanks."

"You're welcome," was all that Rachel could say. She finished up her granola bar and once she was finished Rachel headed for the door. Quinn followed closely behind. Once past the door they were back in the locker room. Rachel looked back at Sue's first aid room and let out a sound of amusement. She had always wondered where that door led to. In retrospect, she should have realized that it had something to do with Sue.

Rachel started heading out but was stopped when Quinn gently grasped onto her wrist. She took a breath to ease the rapid beating of her heart and then turned to face her. "Do you have a ride?" she asked. "Cause if you don't I have a car. I just want to make sure you get home safe."

"Actually I…" She was about to say that Noah would drive her home. The words almost slipped right through her lips, but she stopped herself from making that big mistake. "Actually I don't. I'd really appreciate that. Thanks."

"Great. Just give me a sec; I just want to take a shower first." For a brief moment Rachel's mind fizzled out. She was able to quickly able to regain her composure though, but she lost it just as swiftly as Quinn continued on. "Of course you could take one too if you want." There wasn't the slightest bit of seduction in her tone but somehow some part of Rachel seemed to take that as an invitation to join Quinn in the shower. She then suddenly shook her head, tossing those thoughts away. "Okay, if you don't want to. I'll try to be quick, okay?"

And with that Quinn headed off which perhaps was for the best. Rachel stilled needed to find Noah anyway. She got changed and then headed out of the locker room. Not far away Noah was waiting, leaning against a wall. Upon seeing her he pushed himself off the wall and smile. He put on a façade, pretending that he wasn't worried but Rachel that he was. After all, he did try to talk her out of joining in the first place. It just wasn't in Noah's nature to show his sensitive side though.

He came up to her and pulled her in for a bone crushing hug. Rachel was lucky that she had only hit her head or else his embrace would have really hurt. After a while her pulled back and took a firm grip of her shoulder. "Told those guys that you'd be okay," he said. "Finn was crying a little punk." Rachel laughed despite the fact that she didn't want Finn to feel guilty over what had happened. It was her own fault anyway. "Would have beat the crap out of him though if you were hurt."

"Noah!" Rachel chastised, lightly smacking him on the chest.

"Just telling the truth," he told her, holding his hands out in front of him to prevent any further assault. Rachel pretended to hit him once more but stopped once he flinched. She laughed. He rolled his eyes. "Ready to go?" he asked, already turning around and walking towards the parking lot.

"Actually… you go on without me." Noah stopped in his tracks and spun around. He looked at her, the unspoken question etched across his face. "I'm getting a ride from someone else," she stated, somewhat meekly. There was a part of her that didn't want to tell him everything just in case she failed spectacularly, but Noah was her best friend and they shared everything with each other… Well, not Quinn. Rachel would never share Quinn with Noah. "Quinn… she uh… she offered to give me a ride and I said yes."

A grin appeared on Noah's face. He started to laugh joyously and then he suddenly lifted Rachel up, causing her to squeal in surprise as he cheered in triumph. "Woo! Yeah! That a girl!"

"Noah put me down!" He ignored her for a while but eventually he put her down.

He hugged her once more. "This is your chance Jew Babe. Get that ass!" She should have defended Quinn's honor, and she would have. Rachel didn't like the idea of Noah referring to Quinn as 'that ass' but doing so would make her a big fat hypocrite. It wasn't something that Rachel was proud of but there were plenty of occasions when Quinn would pass by, the pleats of her cheerleading skirt flying about. During those times it was hard for any thought to pass through Rachel's mind, except for one; that ass! So Rachel let off the hook, at least for the time being. Once Quinn was her girlfriend then no one would be allowed to refer to Quinn in such a way except for Rachel. He gave her a pat on the back and with a, "Good luck," he was off.

After that, Rachel just had to wait. She paced back and forth, briefly pondering if she should go back into the locker room to check on Quinn. She weighed the pros and cons in her mind, but before she could make a decision Quinn was already finished. She had changed out of her Cheerios uniform into a simple white top and a pair of jeans that hugged her curves perfectly. Her hair was still wet, and Rachel was sure that she was as well.

"Ready?" she asked pleasantly. Rachel nodded silently and Quinn began leading her to her car. Rachel didn't actually need directions though. Even if she didn't know where Quinn had parked, Rachel knew that Quinn drove a red Volkswagen Bug. She was able to spot the car only seconds after they reached the parking lot. They walked towards it. "So this is my car," Quinn said, stepping aside to present it to Rachel. "Cute, isn't she?"

"Yeah, really cute." Rachel stepped towards the passenger side door and Quinn came up right beside her. She held the door open for her as Rachel got inside. Quinn then got to the driver's side and got buckled in before starting up the car. She checked to see if Rachel her seatbelt on, and when she confirmed that she did, Quinn backed out of her spot.

"Where do you live?"

"241 Birch Hill Road. Do you know how to get there?"

"I do actually." They set off and Rachel reached for the radio. Her fingers were just touching the knob when she remembered that she was in Noah's car. Rachel cleared her throat to grab Quinn's attention. When Quinn looked over, Rachel gestured to the radio, silently asking for permission. "Oh, go ahead." Rachel said her thanks and turned the radio on. She flipped through the stations, searching for something that she liked. As she twisted the knob she heard a familiar tune. She flipped back to the station and smile, letting the music play.

Quinn raised an eyebrow as Paramore blared out of her radio. Rachel started to worry. Maybe she should have played it more carefully with music choice. "I love this song. Never would have guessed that you liked it too." Rachel's smile widened. The two of them were so perfect for each other; Quinn just didn't know it yet. Rachel just had to show her that they were. They didn't talk much more for the rest of the ride. They discussed Paramore a bit; told each other their favorite songs, and Quinn pulled out her iPod so that she could play them.

After a while they arrived at Rachel's house and Quinn parked outside. She looked outside and said, "Here we are." Rachel looked out as well. The drive seemed to fly by so fast. She felt like there was so much more that she could have done to show Quinn that they were soulmates. "Your house is really nice."

"Thanks, and thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome. Is your head feeling okay?"

"It feels fine, thank you."

"That's great. Bye."

"Bye."

Rachel exited the car and headed up to her front porch. Behind her, Quinn had let to leave. Rachel searched for her keys and unlocked the door. She looked back and found that Quinn was still parked outside her house. Rachel waved at her and Quinn waved back. Once Rachel was safely inside, Quinn drove off.

"Pumpkin, are you home?!" Hiram called from inside the living room.

"Yes Papa, I'm here!" Rachel headed in his direction and got to the living room just as Hiram got to his feet and closed his book. He walked up to her and hugged her, kissing her on the top of the head.

"How was your day?"

"Great Papa."

"That's good, pumpkin. Was that Noah?"

"Um… no." Rachel stumbled on her words somewhat. "I actually got a ride from someone else." Hiram sounded surprised. He would want to know more and if he didn't ask immediately, he would certainly ask later on. "Quinn Fabray."

"Quinn Fabray, huh? Is she in Glee Club with you?"

"No, she's head of the Cheerios."

"Oh, well you should invite her in next time. Your father and I would love to meet more of your friends." Rachel simply nodded. Maybe she would, that is if there actually was a next time. And she really hoped that there would be. Rachel headed up to her room and jumped into bed. She was pretty tired and she needed some rest. Later that night, she dreamt of Quinn.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: So I don't really want to ask you for help before you read so please read on first and then check at the bottom to help me with the upcoming Faberry Week.

* * *

There was a spring in Rachel's step as she got up from bed. Of course there was usually a spring in her step as she was a very happy, optimistic person, but it was different and understandably so. Quinn had talked to her, like really talked to her, and she even called her cute. Maybe it wasn't the most perfect way for them to have met, but there was no denying that the two of them had clicked. Rachel had known for a while that Quinn was her soulmate and spending some time with her only helped to confirm that fact.

She was so happy. She just had to share the good news. After preparing for the day and eating a hearty breakfast she headed outside where Noah was waiting to drive her off to school. He quirked an eyebrow at her as he walked her skip down to him, clearly noting her exceptionally chipper mood. He didn't even get to ask before Rachel told him about the previous day. "She called me cute," she told him. "Quinn called me cute. She thinks I'm cute."

"I see," he replied with a weak nod. He was trying to hold back his laughter. Normally Rachel would get mad at him for spoiling her good mood, but as it was he actually wasn't. She felt amazing, and she knew that nothing could have brought her down. She got into his car and they drove off, once again fighting over control of the radio. Once more Rachel won. During the short trip, she told him more about what had happened. Not a detail was spared. From how Quinn tended to her head to their similar taste in music, Rachel made sure that Noah was well informed. She did happen to leave out the whole shower thing. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out where Noah's mind would go if he heard about that.

He was happy for her of course, and after she told her story the two of them discussed further passing practice. Rachel remembered about Finn and felt a little bad. She made a mental note to talk to him to make sure that he didn't blame himself. Rachel asked about what Finn's first period was. Noah assured her that she wouldn't have to worry about Finn, but he knew how Rachel would get so he told her anyway. Rachel thanked him and once they were at school she sped off in that direction.

Despite enjoying accomplishing things alone, Rachel knew the value of teamwork. Victory in football required such teamwork. Even though she was good, Rachel knew that she wouldn't be able to win by herself. She would need the help of her team, Finn especially since he was there starting quarterback. Of course she was worried about Finn too. It's not as though she only wanted to make sure he was okay so that he could play his part in her grand plan of winning the heart of Quinn Fabray. No, no. That wasn't her motivation at all… except you know maybe it was, but just kind of.

Rachel made her way through the halls at a moderately fast pace. She weaved in and out between her fellow students. It was almost as though she was on the field and everyone else comprised the defense. Before long Rachel was at Finn's class, first period English. She checked inside to see if he was there but he wasn't. She frowned, but there was nothing to be done. Rachel turned around to exit and quickly made her way to her own class.

She walked down the hall and rounded a corner, and then she heard it. "Hey! Rachel!" She stopped at the sound of Quinn's voice. Rachel turned to find her approaching from the same direction that she had just come from. As she got closer, Quinn reached up and brushed away a few loose strands of Rachel's hair, which caused her heart to flutter. "How's your head?"

"F-fine."

"That's good. Well, see you." She waved with a smile and walked away.

"B-Bye."

Rachel was far less eloquent than the day before, but she held her head up high. She hadn't even been able to practice how she was going to talk to Quinn yet. After a few conversations with her mirror, Rachel would surely be able to get Quinn to fall in love with her. But until then Rachel had other things to worry about. Her first game was coming up, and she needed to get ready, and for that she would still need to talk to Finn.

But she needed to get to class unless she wanted to risk getting there late, which she didn't. Rachel would have to wait until lunch to go find him. She had far more advanced classes than he did, or at least Rachel was sure that she did. It wasn't as though Rachel knew much about Finn's schedule, but from the short time that she had gotten to know him Rachel learned that he wasn't exactly the brightest guy around. And yet, girls still fawned over him.

Not Quinn though.

After the first half of the day was done Rachel headed off for the cafeteria. Her day had been fairly uneventful up until then, and she didn't it to get any more exciting as the day wore on. Apart from classes, all that awaited her was that talk with Finn and football practice. The latter would come later, but as it was lunch she could easily find Finn. The Cheerios and the football team always sat together at the same table. Noah would occasionally sit there with them, but most of the time he'd sit with Rachel. A couple of times he had invited Rachel to sit with them, and one time she did… way at the very edge where she had practically hid behind Noah the entire time. Not exactly her finest moment, but this was back when she was still a freshman.

She made her way there, tray in hand, and instantly saw Finn. He was exactly hard to find as he was so tall. He was standing beside the table, his back turned to Rachel. From what she could tell, he was talking to someone but whoever it was must have been far smaller than him as Rachel couldn't even get the slightest glimpse of him or her. She walked over slowly, trying her best not to eavesdrop. Of course it was hard to do so when Rachel heard her voice.

"Look, I said that you're not sitting here today."

"Oh, come on."

"You heard her Manboobs. Just get out of here before I have to go all Lima Heights on you." Santana Lopez. She was well known in the school for being the hottest girl around (not in Rachel's opinion, of course) and also for being Quinn's second in command. Truthfully, the Cheerios feared Santana more than Quinn, and for good reason.

Finn though, didn't seem to take her threat seriously, although her words did sound very genuine. He continued on with pleading with Quinn. "It was an accident," he told her. "I didn't mean to hit her. You know that." Rachel heard Santana scoff. "I didn't," he emphasized, this time aiming his words at her.

"I know, but you should have been more careful."

"Okay. I know, all right? I feel really bad and-"

"Don't," Quinn cut him off. "Just don't say anything. I know you didn't do it on purpose, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm really mad at you. I really don't want to see your face right now so please, just go sit somewhere else for today." Finn's shoulders fell. It was clear that he knew that he was getting nowhere. He muttered something under his breath and turned around. He took a step forward but stopped the instant he saw Rachel.

"Oh, hey," he said nervously, reaching up to rub the back of his neck with one hand as he held onto his tray with the other. "How's your head? Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm good Finn, and so is my head."

"Good," Finn nodded. "That's good. I'm really sorry about what happened. I didn't-"

"No, it's okay. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is!"

"No one asked you Santana!" Santana laughed. Finn turned his attention back to Rachel. "Well, it's really good to see that you're okay. I'll see you later at practice, all right?" Rachel nodded her answer with a smile. Finn smiled back and then he went off to find somewhere to eat. For a moment Rachel felt bad for him, but then she saw Quinn in front of her and she decided that she could worry about Finn later.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"You want to sit down with us?"

"Um… uh, okay."

Quinn's lips curved up into a smile. She gently grabbed Rachel by the wrist and led her to the table. She sat down and had Rachel sit beside her. "This is Santana and that's Brittany," she said, pointing to her two best friends in turn.

Brittany eagerly waved at her, extending her hand out with a happy, "Hi!" But Santana was far less enthusiastic and merely glanced in her direction. Quinn continued introducing the Cheerios but didn't bother to do so with the football players as Rachel knew most of them already. Once Quinn was done, Rachel started to eat while making mild conversation with the Unholy Trinity.

She had never imagined something like that to ever happen and yet it was. Brittany thought it was really cool how Rachel had joined the football team. Santana on the other hand was less supportive and consistently questioned how Rachel wouldn't get crushed. And Quinn would have to tell Santana off and reassure Rachel that she'd be okay. Rachel would nod in agreement even though Santana's words did scare her a bit.

At some point Noah came by. At first he looked confused, but once he noticed Quinn he quickly pieced things together. He quickly and subtly glanced between the two of them, silently asking Rachel how things were going. Rachel simply smiled out her answer. He came to over to her and gave her a hug. "Hey Jew babe." Afterwards he sat down and started chatting with the guys. They'd get to talk about everything later. Or that is to say that Rachel would talk and Noah would listen. Regardless, her paid close attention to what they were talking about. He'd smirk whenever Quinn would defend Rachel from Santana's discouraging words.

Rachel's second time at the popular table went far better than her first. She wondered if maybe she'd be able to sit there again. Quinn seemed to enjoy her company and she was officially a jock even if she didn't have the letterman jacket to show off her status. It only seemed right to eat with Quinn the following day. The best part was that Rachel had gotten along with Quinn's best friends. Brittany just thought that she was the coolest girl ever and despite the fact that Santana was being mean, Rachel knew that she at least was able to gain her respect.

When lunch ended Rachel said her goodbyes and headed off for class. Quinn did the same and then started going in the same direction as Rachel. Rachel's heart pounded in her chest, but then she remembered that she and Quinn had the same class next. She willed herself to calm down and to play it cool. Slowly, Quinn fell in stride with her so that they were walking side by side. She glanced at her and then down at the floor. Rachel acted like she didn't see anything. "You're not with him, are you?" Rachel's head snapped in Quinn's direction, confusion etched on her face. "I mean there's nothing wrong with it if you are, but… you're not with him, right?"

"Him who?" Rachel had to ask.

"Puck," Quinn said simply.

"Noah? No!" Rachel answered hastily, waving her hands out in front of her. "No, no, no, no, no. Noah and I are just friends," she clarified. "Best friends. We've known each other since forever. He's like the big brother that I've always wanted… kind of." Quinn laughed, sounding quite relieved.

"Oh, okay." She looked back down at the floor, and then after a moment she glanced back up at Rachel, right into her eyes. "I know that he's good guy, but I just think that you deserve someone better than… well, just better." Her eyes fell slightly, down to Rachel's lips or possibly even lower. "We should get to class." She hurried off with Rachel giving chase. They couldn't sit together as their teacher had assigned seating, but Quinn escorted Rachel to her chair before finding her own towards the front of the room. Rachel watched her leave and averted her eyes quickly when Quinn turned her head around as though sensing Rachel's eyes on her.

The two of them share more small interactions throughout the day, comprising mostly of hellos when they passed each other by. Rachel never did get a chance to ask if she'd be allowed to sit at the popular table again. Thoughts of that question just seemed to disappear whenever Quinn was around. But perhaps that was for the best; being timid wouldn't exactly help her impress Quinn. Although, Rachel did know what could help.

Practice that day started off with a bit of a low note. Somehow word had gotten around about Rachel's little 'incident' and Coach Beiste had gotten quite mad about the whole thing. She had given Finn a warning in front of the entire team, but she spared Rachel the embarrassment of telling everyone about what had happened. After he was done getting yelled at Rachel approached Finn. "It's okay," he said before she even got a word out. He put on his lopsided grin and they huddled up.

They started off with a few passing plays which gave Rachel little action. She waited patiently for her chance to show what she was made off. Eventually, Finn threw a pass her way. It flew over her head and almost out of reach, but Rachel managed to grab it. She didn't have her footing though and she started to fall forward. Rachel planted her feet and was able to steady herself but before she could run she was tackled to the ground.

The hit hurt, but Rachel held firmly onto the ball. From where she laid in the grass, Rachel could see the faintest of smiles on her coach's face. She blew her whistle and had them run the play again. Their second attempt gave a far better result with Rachel gaining seven yards after the catch before being forced out of bounds. Rachel missed her third catch, but she could tell that Coach was happy with her progress. The only question that was left was whether or not it would be enough.

* * *

AN: So as you will know from reading the very top it is that time again. Sadly, I wasn't aware that we deciding on that already or else I would have added my ideas for possible themes for Faberry Week. Currently the themes are

June 15 - Scars

June 16 - Meeting Frannie

June 17 - Hickeys

June 18 - Age Difference

June 19 - Accidental Stimulation

June 20 - Doppelgängers

June 21 - Nightmares

I'm not really sure about some of these theme, but I think I can work with a few.

For Scars I might do something related to Quinn's car accident, but do you all think would be an appropriate place for her to have a scar?

I've already done things with Frannie, so I'm not really sure I want to do something else, but she's always fun to write.

Accidental Stimulation will be fun, but how to do it? Hmm.

If any of you have any suggestions than they are more than welcome, and I hope you enjoyed.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: All right everyone, this chapter is Rachel's first game. It's not going to be a complete play by play, but I kind of wanted to do that, but I'm not creative enough to imagine an entire fake football game. Also, I never mention the name of the opposing team because I don't want to make up a fake team nor do I want to use real school. Though, I think it would be fun to take the schools that New Directions had faced off against and make football teams for them. I would probably need some help with that thought. Just making up names. Is anyone willing to assist?

* * *

It was Rachel's first game, and a home game. The crowd was roaring, or at least part of it was. The McKinley Titans were well known for being the worst team in the state, or at least they would be if people cared enough to learn about the worst team in the state. As such, it was quite understandable why Rachel's fellow schoolmates were pretty quiet. They all had reasons for coming; most were there to watch the Cheerios. Rachel was much the same during the past few years. Yes, she also attended games to support Noah, but she'd be lying if she that had paid attention to even half the game. Mostly she was distracted by Quinn.

But now things were different and Rachel's heart was racing. Her senses were on overdrive. It was a feeling similar to any of her big musical performances, but this was different because she was actually nervous. She looked calm, but she was shaking on the inside. It was do or die time, and she was really hoping that she wouldn't die. On the bright side though, if she did die, then at least she wouldn't have to face Quinn's rejection.

But that thought didn't actually make her feel any better.

She took a deep breath. The team captains for each team jogged out onto the field for the coin toss. Finn and Noah were two of them. Together they made a lucky guess and opted to receive. They came back to the sidelines and special teams took position. Rachel watched as the game started. The opposing team kicked the ball. It soared through the sky, landing in the hands of Mike Chang. He ran forward, his teammates trying to form a defensive wall around him as he advanced down the field.

They held off the opposing team as best they could and Mike managed to just get past the twenty yard line before being taken down. With the kickoff over it was now Rachel time to hit the field. She double checked to make sure that her helmet was strapped on tightly and started to head out. After a few steps though, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Quinn. "Hey," she said, waving a pom-pom at her. "Be careful out there, okay? It would make me sad to see you get hurt." Rachel only nodded.

The last time that she had gotten hurt was because she was distracted, by Quinn no less. There was a bit of irony in that, she supposed, but there was no time to think about that. She got into the huddle where Finn told her that they'd start off with a running play. She nodded her understanding and they got into formation. As Finn got set, Rachel scanned the defense. Some of them were bigger than what she was accustomed to during practice. Despite that, she would hold firm. As she took a breath she heard Finn utter those words. "Hut. Hut. Hike!"

In an instant he handed her the ball. Rachel darted to the left where the offensive line had managed to hold back the defenders. She went to the outside and gained eight yards before being tackled by one of the cornerbacks. She quickly got back up and they ran another running play. Once more she ran to the left, but instead of going outside opened a hole for her to get through. Rachel didn't get as far as she did initially, but she was able to get enough yardage to get the first down.

So far, so good. On their third play they continued to keep to the ground. Rachel gained five yards and she seemed to aggravate the opposing team. They blitzed the following play, fully expecting Finn to hand her the ball once more. That decision cost them dearly as left Mike wide open for a long pass that moved the Titans down close to the fifty yard line. Their next pass ended in failure though and once more they were counting on Rachel to help them get down the field. The Titans got into a shotgun formation to give off the impression that they were going for a pass. "Hut. Hut. Hike!" Rachel darted towards Finn immediately. He quickly placed the ball in her hands and she was off. Not a second later though, Rachel was on the ground.

The defender who tackled her got to his feet and yelled in her face. "Woo! Stay down!" Rachel considered doing just that but she couldn't. Noah came over and reached out a hand to help her up. He pulled her up to her feet and then checked to see if she was okay.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Fine," Rachel answered, although her ribs did hurt a little. Noah didn't look too convinced. He gave her a once over but decided not to argue with her. Regardless of whether she lying or not, they both knew that she wouldn't be doing much for the following play. At third and twelve there was no point in running the ball, and although Rachel's passing had improved she was far from their best receiver. Not to mention the fact that her small stature would make it far easier for the opposing team to intercept the ball from her.

Her role ended up being little more than a poor decoy in a play-action pass. They didn't fool anyone though, and the defense was more than ready. All the Titan receivers were well covered and Finn was forced to scramble out of the pocket. He wasn't much of a mobile quarterback though and the moment he saw an opportunity he went for it. Finn threw a deep pass to Noah. It flew a bit high and Noah needed to jump to reach it. He got his hands on it but before his feet could hit the floor a linebacker smashed into his side. The ball came loose and they were then on fourth down.

Rachel watched Noah groan as he got to his feet. He was upset, mad even. They would have been so close to the end zone, but now they had to punt the ball away. Rachel wanted to make him feel better, but she didn't know what she could have done. She didn't even know if there actually was something that she could have done. Special teams hit the field and kicked the ball deep into enemy territory. The punt returned called for a fair catch which left them at the twenty seven yard line. Unfortunately, their offense wasn't as passive.

They came in strong and hard. On the sidelines Rachel felt helpless as her team's defense was but trampled over. Try as they might all they could do was slow the opposing team down. Slowly the opposition was gaining yardage, getting closer and closer to the red zone. After a good dozen or so plays they within the twenty and threatening to make a touchdown. They ran straight down the middle. Their running back shoved his way through the defensive line and fought for as many yards as he could before being taken by a pair of Titans.

On second and two they scored the first touchdown of the game while also striking a blow to the Titans morale. They had been working hard since the school year had begun. Rachel knew that even before she had joined the team. With Noah as her best friend it was only natural that she'd watch them practice from time to time. Admittedly, she often watched Quinn more during those occasions but nonetheless Rachel was quite familiar with how the Titans practiced. But they had been different in the past few weeks. They were working harder. They were more determined.

Noah was more determined. He would never complain to Rachel about mad he would get about how they would always lose. Talking about feelings wasn't something that he typically did, but it clear to Rachel that he hated it. Noah had been on the team during each of the five years that he had been a student at McKinley. Don't ask how he managed to stay on the team after being held, even Rachel never figured that one out. Anyway, he had been on the team longer than the rest of the guys and thus he had faced more losses than the rest of the guys.

It hurt Rachel to see how upset he would get. She didn't exactly understand what the game meant to him, and she probably never would but she knew that it was important to him. She walked over to him while both teams got set for the kickoff. She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "We'll score this time," she told him, to which he simply nodded with a forced smile. Again, Mike got the ball and the results were more or less the same.

The offense hit the field and started once more with a running play. Rachel swerved away from defenders, thinking more about avoiding collisions as opposed to getting down the field. She had a good run and got out of bounds just short of getting a first down. Although she hadn't technically promised, she wanted to get that touchdown for Noah. She wanted to help him end his last season with a bang. Besides, helping him meant helping herself in trying to impress Quinn.

They ran again, and Rachel slipped in through the middle, just managing to gain the yardage they needed. Afterwards the Titans were for two downs but a long pass to Noah which got them fourteen yards and a first down. Their offensive options were pretty limited with Noah, Mike and Rachel being the only viable threats. Just short of the fifty yard line, the Titans went for a pass. Finn drew back and searched for an open receiver. He found Rachel. They made eye contact briefly. He hesitated, but defenders were closing in.

There was no other choice. Finn threw a bullet straight at her. Rachel jumped to get it, but the ball slipped right through her fingers. She groaned as her feet touched back onto the ground. She had been wide open, there wasn't a single person around, and yet she couldn't hold onto the ball. Rachel felt awful. She was able to make up for her failings in the following play with a good seven yard rush, but they were stopped on third down and thus had to punt the ball away again.

Rachel was angry. She was upset. Any bit of momentum that she or her team would get would fade as quickly as it was gained. After several more plays they were scored on again, but thankfully their defense was able to hold their opponents to just a field goal instead of another touchdown. At the end of the first quarter the score was ten to zero. It wasn't the worst of positions, but it was disheartening. They were able to score during the second quarter with a pass to Mike but they ended up giving up another field goal, and another one just before the end of the first half.

Needless to say, during halftime they sure needed a bit of a pep talk. Whatever Coach Beiste said though, Rachel didn't get to hear. Due to the odd circumstances, she was allowed entry to the boy's locker room while they had a game, but she didn't feel too comfortable with that idea. Coach told her that it was her decision. Maybe she had received some special treatment, which she shouldn't have, but no one complained. In all honestly, Rachel thought that some of the boys would have been uncomfortable with her in there as well.

Later on in the season she'd probably go in there, but for the time being she preferred being in the girl's locker room, although it was pretty lonely in there. But it was quiet too. "Rachel?" Or it was. Rachel got up from her seat. She knew that voice. It was Quinn. She headed over towards her. "Hey," she said once they found one another. "How are you?" Rachel put on a half-smile. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry though, you've been doing great." Perhaps she had, but Rachel had to do better if she was going to win the game, and then win Quinn's heart.

Rachel sighed and nodded. "I know."

"And you've kept your promise." That made Rachel smile, really smile.

"I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah." For a moment there was silence. "Well, I should get back out there."

"And I should too."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. Good luck to you too." Quinn looked at her with a confused expression on her face. "With your um… cheering… and uh, keeping the crowd… motivated." Quinn laughed.

"Um, sure. I'll try."

Clearly Rachel's mind wasn't thinking while she was speaking. She headed outside to start the third quarter. The Titans kicked the ball off, and after a painful looking drive they stopped their opponents at their forty two yard line. They were overconfident went for a long field goal which flew wide right. It wasn't much of a momentum changer, but Rachel was going to take whatever she could. She got back onto the field and was immediately handed the ball.

With some newfound energy, Rachel zoomed past the defense, juking left and right and gaining nearly twenty yards before being forced out of bounds. It was her best run of the night and with it the Titans were once more closing in on the red zone. They then went short pass to Noah and then another run which got them another first down and within field goal range, but Rachel wasn't going to settle for a field goal. The next chance she got, Rachel made a breakaway for the end zone.

She got some yardage, but soon after getting a first down Rachel was tackled, hard. She felt like her body had snapped in two. It hadn't though. "Woo!" She had heard that voice earlier. "Told you before, bitch! Stay down! This is a man's sport!" Rachel hadn't minded his taunts before, but it was personal. She got to her feet quickly. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do but before she could even think about it, Noah came rushing in. He got in between the two of them and shoved the guy away.

"What did you call her?! Huh?!" Rachel tried to hold him back, but she wasn't strong enough. A referee came in and broke them up. He probably should have thrown a flag, but he didn't. Rachel took Noah by the arm and led him away.

"Forget about him," she said. "He's not worth it."

Noah couldn't really argue; they were still in the middle of a game, but that didn't change the fact that he really wanted to hurt that guy. He could get like that sometime even though he was really a sweet guy deep down. It probably wouldn't have been smart to hand him the ball anytime soon while his emotions were getting the best of him, but as one of their few weapons they didn't have much choice. After a couple of unsuccessful plays, Finn threw a short pass to him. There was no way that they should have gotten the first down, but Noah fought for extra yardage, shoving his way through defenders and getting them close to the end zone.

The Titans scored soon after, narrowing the gap in the score to only a pair of field goals. One touchdown and they would have the lead. The next several minutes were a fight for the ball. Back and forth it went with neither team scoring a single point. The third quarter ended, and a good chunk of the forth passed by and still the score was the same. It was close, but the Titans were on defense and they were out of timeouts. Their opponents ran wasted a few precious minutes as they tried to run out the clock before they had to punt the ball.

With less than three minutes on the clock and no timeouts, things were looking grim. It was only made worse for Rachel as they couldn't risk a ground game. Play after play was a pass and with only two reliable receivers, they were easily being stopped. Rachel felt so helpless. There was nothing for her to do. After many failed passes and only a couple of completed ones they were just past the fifty yard line with only a few seconds left on the clock.

Their next play would possibly be their last. Coach Beiste set them up for a Hail Mary with Rachel as a receiver on the outside. "Hut." This was it. "Hut." It was win or lose. "Hike!" Rachel darted down the field, faster than any other player on the field. She was wide open, and closing in on the end zone. Rachel looked back. Noah was being guarded closely, and Mike had two guys on him. Neither of them was going to get the ball. And then she saw it flying right at her. She reached up and closed her eyes, too afraid that she would let everyone down. It was a stupid thing to do, but miraculously the ball fell into her hand perfectly.

Rachel had caught it. She couldn't believe it, and for a moment she was frozen in shock. Then she heard Coach Beiste yell at her to run and she saw the defenders rushing towards her. Rachel started to run. She ran as fast as she could, not daring to look back in case someone was catching up with her. She kept going and going and then she stopped. Rachel looked down at her feet. She had done it. She had score. She had won the game. They had won.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: So this is a little shorter than my last chapter, and like many of you predicted, it consists of a party to celebrate the Titan's win.

* * *

Victory was something that was not uncommon to Rachel. On the contrary, when to singing competitions she would often crush her opponents. She was always a very competitive person, and she loved winning. Needless to say she very much liked the outcome of her first football game. The students of McKinley High were on their feet; cheering for the Titans, cheering for her. And of course they were cheering for her; she did score the winning touchdown. All around her, her teammates were congratulating her.

She was quite glad that none of them decided to slap her on the butt. During her research, Rachel had learned of some odd ritual would do that to one another as a way of showing support, or something along those lines. She didn't know if football players actually did things like that, and she wasn't even going to consider asking Noah. Although if one of them did try to slap her butt, then would not be held responsible for her actions.

Luckily, no one tried anything of the sort. Rachel was free to celebrate as she wished. And there was only one thing that Rachel wished. She escaped from her team and made her way to where the Cheerios had been performing. Everyone had gone down from their seats in the bleachers so it was hard for her to tell if they were still there, but Rachel had to start somewhere. She squeezed her way through the crowd, receiving more compliments along the way.

For once in her life, she didn't care much for the attention; there would be plenty of chances to have people clamoring around her once she was a big Broadway star. Getting Quinn Fabray to become her girlfriend on the other hand was a once in a lifetime opportunity. After some effort she finally found some open space. The Cheerios were gone though. Rachel frowned, but then she felt a soft delicate hand wrap around her own and she smiled. It had to be Quinn. Rachel turned and beamed at her. "Hey, looking for me?" Quinn playfully asked. Rachel didn't answer; too embarrassed to admit that she had in fact been doing just that. Luckily, Quinn didn't wait for a response. "You were great out there!"

Rachel's cheeks reddened and she nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Rachel always liked receiving compliments, but ones that came from Quinn were extra special. Quinn's words made her feel like there were butterflies fluttering about in her stomach. The fact that they were also holding hands didn't help Rachel in keeping her composure. "It-it was all thanks to you," she said, proud that her words hadn't come out completely jumbled. Quinn giggled.

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "That was all you. You were amazing." Rachel's blush intensified. She was certain that her cheeks were a deeper shade of red than her jersey.

"Thanks," she squeaked out.

"You're welcome. Anyway, I was actually looking for you myself."

"You were?" Rachel asked while trying her best not to sound too surprised. She failed miserably.

"Yeah," Quinn laughed. "My parents aren't home tonight so I'm inviting everyone over to my place to celebrate, and I wanted to know if you needed a ride." Rachel's eyes widened. Unless she was mistaken, which was highly unlikely, she was being invited to a party. It took her a moment or two to process the information. "You are coming, right?" Quinn asked due to Rachel's silence. "You have to come. We wouldn't have won this game if not for our little star." Rachel's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Quinn had called her a star. "Come on. It'll be fun," she insisted. Rachel didn't need much convincing.

"O-okay," she agreed. "I'd love to come."

"Great! We'll leave in just a bit, I have to wait for Brittany and Santana first," she explained. "You can get changed while we wait for them." Rachel nodded and smiled even though she was a little upset to learn that she wouldn't be alone with Quinn during the trip to her house. As she left for the locker room, Rachel looked at the positives though and reasoned that the short drive would be a good time to get better acquainted with Quinn's friends. While their opinions weren't as important as Quinn's, getting their approval was essential. Brittany liked her well enough, but Santana was proving to be slightly problematic.

Rachel had gotten more comfortable with sitting at the popular table at lunch since Quinn had first invited her to eat there. Everyone was fairly welcoming except for Santana. It wasn't as though Santana disliked her or anything like that, but she did appear to enjoy antagonizing Rachel. Maybe this would prove to be Rachel's chance to change all that.

The locker room was fairly empty, thus giving Rachel some privacy. She got out of her football uniform and changed into her normal clothes. They weren't exactly party clothes, but it wasn't as though Rachel actually own any party clothes. She made sure she looked okay and then headed outside where Brittany and Santana were patiently waiting with Quinn. As expected, Brittany cheerfully greeted Rachel while Santana gave a half-hearted wave.

They left soon after with Brittany and Santana letting Rachel ride shotgun. She didn't argue. Rachel got into the car and buckled up. She checked the rear-view mirror to see if Santana and Brittany had done so as well and saw a sight which made her heart melt. There had never been any confirmation on it but it was commonly assumed that Santana and Brittany were together. Rachel didn't exactly have the best gaydar so she couldn't really tell herself, but seeing Brittany's fingers interlaced with Santana's made her believe they were in fact together.

The sight made Rachel happy. "What are you smiling about?" And just like that Santana went and ruined her mood. Rachel couldn't understand what Brittany saw in her, but she guessed that Santana must have had a sweet side deep down. Deep, deep down that is. Either that or Brittany had a thing for bad girls. Rachel briefly wondered what she would do if Quinn had a thing for bad girls. She'd probably have to dye her hair and get a whole new wardrobe. Such an action would probably be a bit extreme, but Rachel liked the idea of having blue stripe in her hair, that is of course as long as it washed out.

Once everyone was buckled in Quinn backed out of her parking spot. She turned the radio on and then Brittany spoke up. "You were really amazing today Rachel. And that catch at the end of the game; it was super cool." Rachel looked at her through the rear-view mirror and smiled.

"Thanks. I actually wasn't sure if I wasn't going to make that catch," Rachel admitted.

Santana laughed. "Me neither," she told her. "I was pretty sure that you were going to get smacked in the face again." Rachel shrank in her seat and Quinn glanced over at her before glaring at Santana through the rear-view mirror.

"Back off Santana, we're celebrating tonight." Quinn then turned her attention to Rachel. "Ignore her, she's always like this."

Santana scoffed. "I'm only being honest," she shrugged.

"Rachel did win the game though," Brittany pointed out, which Rachel appreciated as Santana promptly decided to leave the topic be. If their previous handholding hadn't already convinced Rachel that the two of them were together then Santana's behavior surely would have. There wasn't much more talk during the rest of the short ride.

Quinn's house was quite large. It wasn't exactly a mansion but it was big enough to show that whoever lived inside was pretty well off. Quinn exited the car and invited them inside before going around the place to gather things that were fragile. Everything she found she put into a closet and after that the four of them waited for everyone to arrive. It wasn't very long before they started to do so. They came by the dozens as cars lined up outside.

A few people brought some alcohol, something that Rachel had never touched before. As they came in Quinn put on some music. Slowly the house filled up. Everyone from school seemed to be there, which seemed highly unlikely as Quinn's house was nowhere near as big as McKinley High. Rachel tried to stay close to Quinn, but as the crowd thickened the two of them got separated.

There were so many people. They were all drinking or dancing and few couple were making out as well. But despite how much fun everyone was having they all took the time to acknowledge Rachel and congratulate her. They knew who she was. It was different from her experience at other parties. She had grown accustomed to being anonymous. And it wasn't as though Rachel didn't have fun when she was all but invisible. She'd dance, and occasionally people would hit on her. Rachel enjoyed being at parties, and this one was no exception.

It just felt weird for her, being on everyone's radar. Everyone was saying such nice things about her. She received so many compliments. It was almost as though Rachel had replaced Quinn as the most popular girl in school. It was almost suffocating, but it was thrilling all the same. She was having so much fun, but she wanted to find Quinn. She wanted to ask her to dance. Rachel politely made her way through the crown, occasionally asking people if they had seen Quinn. She was pointed in various directions, but she always seemed to be a little too late to catch Quinn.

Her search left Rachel frustrated and tired. Eventually, she passed by the stairs and decided to take a seat. She went up a few steps so she could get a better view of the party. There were a couple of blondes around, but none of them were Quinn. Rachel could tell. Someone then sat next to her. She quickly whipped head whipped around, hoping that it was her. It wasn't. Rachel frowned. "Good to see you too," Noah said with a laugh.

"No, I'm sorry," Rachel apologized. "It is good to see you. I was just hoping that you were…"

"Quinn?" Noah finished for her. Rachel nodded. "She just went into the kitchen."

"She did?"

"Yeah." Noah gave her a pat on the back. "Go get her!"

Rachel jumped to her feet and darted down the stairs. She rounded the corner into the dining room and continued on into the kitchen. She quickly scanned the area in search of Quinn. At first she found no sign of her, but eventually she found her as she got something to drink. Rachel hurried over, but then slowed down so she wouldn't appear to be over eager. She steadied her pace and as casually as possible closed the gap between her and Quinn.

She was unsure on whether or not she wanted to initiate conversation and so Rachel pretended not to notice Quinn while she considered her options. But her decision was made for her when Quinn saw her. "Hey," she waved. She took a sip of her drink and took a few steps forward so that there were only mere inches between them. "Having fun?"

"Lots."

"So you're glad you came?"

"Yeah, I am." It was her chance and suddenly Rachel was nervous. "Hey, do you… do you want to dance… with me?" Quinn let out soft laugh and then bit down on her lower lip as though she were giving her request some real thought.

"Sure." She took Rachel by the hand and escorted her to the living room. The music was loud and upbeat. The two of them found a spot and started to dance. They swayed to and fro. Rachel tried and failed to keep her hands off of Quinn. They were just so close to one another. It was hard not to place a hand on her waist, wrap an arm around her, or to just interlace their fingers. And Quinn didn't seem to mind.

They'd get a real dance one day, a romantic one. Rachel would make certain of that. But for the time being, she was content with where they were at. They stayed together like that for several more songs until they both tired. They left to find a place a little less crowded. It was getting pretty warm, which only made sense since the place was as packed as it was. Quinn tugged on Rachel hand and began leading her upstairs.

"Quinn, where are you taking me?"

"My room," Quinn answered. She showed Rachel where it was and let her inside. The room was simple and had a couple of bookshelves. There was a desk to one side with Quinn's laptop on it and upon Quinn's bed was a stuffed lamb. Rachel looked at it for a while. Quinn followed her line of sight and once she noticed what Rachel was looking at she darted for her bed and grabbed him before hiding him under her pillow. "You didn't see him."

"What's his name?"

"I said you didn't see him," Quinn insisted to which Rachel couldn't help but laugh. She didn't look too amused, but eventually Quinn laughed too. "His name's Lambchop."

"He's cute. Can I see him?" Quinn looked hesitant, but after a moment she took Lambchop out from under her pillow and handed him to Rachel. She took him gently and carefully cradled him in her arms. "He really is cute," she repeated.

"I've had him forever. I know it's kind of childish, but he was my best friend growing up."

"It's not," Rachel assured. "And if it makes you feel any better, I collect Care Bears."

"You do?!"

"Yeah."

Quinn shook her head in disbelief and took a seat. Rachel sat beside her. "You're really something, you know that?" Rachel looked at her, slightly confused. "You're just full of surprises. Just when I think I get you I learn something new that I would have never expected."

"What do you mean?"

"Like you joining the football team," Quinn explained. "You're like the smallest girl in school." Quinn looked as though she was trying not to laugh, but she did a little. "Aren't you scared?"

"A little." She was actually scared a lot, but she wouldn't tell that to Quinn.

"So why did you join?"

"Um…" Rachel hadn't expected a question like this. She could have lied, and she wondered if she should but she wanted to be honest with Quinn if only partially. "I uh… actually wanted to try to impress someone." Quinn smiled and then she laughed playfully. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just when a girl tries to impress a guy she usually joins the cheerleading squad and not the football team. And I'm pretty sure you'd look great in one of our uniforms; really show off your legs." Rachel blushed. Quinn thought she had nice legs.

"Well… the thing is um… I'm not trying to impress a guy."

"Oh… oh… I just… I just assumed and… I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's okay."

"Still, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." For a few seconds Quinn was quite. She was trying to process the new information, no doubt. "I take it that she's on the Cheerios?" It was kind of a given, but Rachel nodded anyway. "Is it me?"

* * *

AN: Sorry about the cliffhanger. I know I'm evil, buy you should know that by now.

Oh, and um would any of you know of any good TV series available on Netflix? I'm looking for something to watch.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: So here's what you've been waiting for. I'm going to be honest with you all and tell you that I had been thinking about all different ways for this chapter to go, but in the end I decided that there was only really one way that I could reasonably go with it.

* * *

It was a simple question with an equally simple answer; yes or no. The answer of course was yes. A single word; that was all that Rachel needed to say and Quinn would be all hers… maybe. Rachel hadn't expected this moment to come so soon, but her opportunity was right there. All she had to do was answer. "Um… well, I uh…"

"Oh my God, it is me, isn't it?" Rachel hugged Lambchop close as she gave a slight nod. She closed her eyes as she prepared for possible rejection. And then she felt the pads of Quinn's fingers upon her cheek, her thumb gently rubbing circles on it. "God, you really are cute." Rachel's eyes popped open just as she felt the bed dip. Quinn was closer to her than she was before. She licked her lips and leaned in. "May I?" she asked, to which Rachel could only whimper. Quinn took that as a yes and closed the distance between them.

Their lips collided and Rachel moaned. Her first kiss. It was everything she could have hoped for. The grip she had on Lambchop loosened, and he fell onto her lap. Quinn pulled back, her hand still stroking Rachel's cheek. "Wow," she squeaked out to which Quinn giggled. "That was… that was… wow." Rachel closed her eye and breathed out a sigh of relief. She couldn't believe it. It seemed too good to be true. Just to be sure she pinched herself. "Ow!"

Quinn laughed before grabbing her arm to make sure that Rachel hadn't hurt herself. "What are you doing?" Rachel looked unharmed but Quinn kissed her arm regardless. "You're so silly." So it was real. Quinn had kissed her. She had initiated the kiss.

"So, you like me back?"

Once more Rachel had Quinn giggling. "Uh, yeah. I thought I was pretty obvious about that." She had been, kind of. Maybe if Rachel had better gaydar she would have seen Quinn's flirting for what it was instead of thinking that it was just her being nice. "I've liked you for a while Rachel, and that's kind of why Santana's been a bit of a bitch to you."

"What?"

"She knows how I feel," she explained. "And she's been telling me that you feel the same." Rachel was still confused and Quinn could tell. "She thought that if she instigated me enough that I'd make a move eventually." She absentmindedly played with her fingers. "I guess that I should have." She gently grabbed Rachel and went to lie down, pulling Rachel down with her, with Lambchop squeezed between them. He was stuck there for a bit before Quinn took him and placed him beside them. "Stay here with me, just for a bit. We can go back to the party later."

"That's fine with me."

The two of them just stayed there on the bed. There was nothing but the two of them, and Lambchop, who was happily watching them. Rachel didn't really mind his company, although she did wish that the two of them were completely alone. There weren't much words said. They simply cuddled with one for a while, the party going on below them all but forgotten. They could still hear it, and Rachel wished that Quinn's room was more like her own; soundproof walls would have been nice to have.

She nuzzled closer to girlfriend when a thought came to mind. Things had happened so fast that she didn't actually know where the two of them stood. Officially, Quinn wasn't her girlfriend. There was no immediate need to label things, but Rachel wanted some reassurance. She squeezed Quinn's arm as she called her name, "Quinn?" Quinn hummed her response, signally Rachel to continue. "Are we… are we together?" Quinn pulled back so she could get a better look at Rachel. She was smiling, so that was a good sign.

"Well, I wouldn't say that we're together yet," she laughed. "We haven't even been on a date yet, and I'd prefer if we went slowly." Rachel could understand that. She could appreciate it. It wasn't as though she wanted to rush things anyway. Letting their relationship develop at a nice steady pace was just perfect for her. "Besides, I've never actually been with anyone before."

"Huh?"

"I never had a girlfriend before," she admitted. "Or a boyfriend too I suppose, but since I'm gay I guess that doesn't really matter. I thought that would have been clear too." It hadn't, or at least not to Rachel. She sat in silence as she processed the information, and then a smile formed upon her face.

"So I'm your first?"

"Don't let it got to your head," Quinn playfully chastised as she laughed at Rachel's proud tone. "But yes, you're my first and I'm hoping that you'll be my first for other things too." She pulled Rachel in close, one hand resting on her lower back while cupped Rachel's cheek with the other. She leaned in and Rachel closed her eyes, hoping for a kiss. And a kiss she received, but only on her other cheek and not on her lips. Quinn apologized when she pulled back, "Sorry. Like I said, I want to go slow, so no kissing… at least for now." Rachel didn't really like the idea but she had waited years to kiss Quinn Fabray; a couple more days wouldn't kill her.

"Okay."

"Thanks." Again, Quinn kissed Rachel's cheek. She looked over Rachel's shoulder to check the time. "It's getting late. I should probably start kicking people out, so I can get you home." Rachel nodded slowly. The house was probably a mess so it would likely take a lot of work to fix it up before Quinn's parents got home. Rachel didn't want Quinn to get in trouble, but she also didn't want the two of them to get out of bed. They had to though.

The two of them got up and left Quinn's room. They started looking for Santana while also telling everyone that the party was over. Some people listened, but others didn't, and there were even others who were so wasted that couldn't even completely comprehend the fact that they were being kicked out. Everything got easier though once Rachel and Quinn found Santana. She was with Brittany at the time, and clearly she didn't like being interrupted.

But after giving the two of them a once over, Santana quickly got to work. She had everyone out of the house in no time. They filtered out in packs. Rachel was congratulated many more times, and Quinn beamed by her side. She was proud. Noah was one of the last to leave, Finn, Sam and Mike with him. He casually glanced at Rachel and took note of her close proximity to Quinn. Nothing had to be said. She nodded at him and he nodded back. She wouldn't need a ride from him. After they were gone Santana decided to make her exit as well. She grabbed Brittany by the hand and started taking her to the door.

"Hey, aren't you going to help me?"

"We should San." Santana let out a sigh. She clearly didn't want to be around anymore, but at the same time she wasn't about to do anything that might upset Brittany. Part of Rachel wanted them to leave so that she'd have more alone time with Quinn, but on the other hand there was a lot that needed cleaning up. Help would have been much appreciated. Santana spun around and started marching forward, but then she got this glint in her eye. She smiled wickedly and proceeded to whisper something in Brittany's ear. Brittany lit up and nodded eagerly before turning to smile at Quinn and Rachel's direction. After Santana was done Brittany leapt forward and engulfed the two of them in a giant hug. "Oh, I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks Britt."

"Yeah, thank you."

"We should really let them have some time alone. Right, Britt?"

"We should, shouldn't we?" The moment Brittany agreed Santana took hold of her hand once more and darted for the door.

"Wait!" Quinn tried to stop them, but she was too late. They were already out the door. She groaned and then turned to Rachel. "Let's get you home, okay? I'll fix this all up when I get back."

"No, Quinn. No."

"Rachel, you don't have to help."

"I know. I want to."

There was no point in arguing, Quinn figured that out. She couldn't exactly force Rachel into the car. She took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze, silently asking one last time if she was sure. Rachel nodded and Quinn hugged her before kissing her cheek. "Thanks. You're the best girlfriend, you know that?"

"Girlfriend, huh? What happened to going slow?"

"Oh, shut up."

Rachel wanted to tease Quinn more but they had a lot of work to get done. They split up and started on opposite ends of the room. They both moved as fast as they could as they got the place back to its original state. It took some time, but after a while every room was perfect and the two of them were worn out. To finish things off Quinn grabbed the stuff that she had hidden and put them back in their places. Once she was done with that she and Rachel collapsed on the couch, with Rachel's body draped over Quinn's. Rachel was tired, really tired. The game had worn her out enough, but after the party and the clean-up she could barely move.

She really wanted to just sleep over, but that probably would have been moving too fast. Besides, Rachel needed to get home before her dads' started to worry. She had sent them a text about the party before it had begun. They were well aware that she would be home late, and while they had never given her a set curfew, Rachel knew that neither of them liked the idea of their only daughter being out when it was dark.

But with Quinn lying below her, Rachel was content where she was. She cuddled close to Quinn and hummed contently. Quinn lazily drew circles on her back and kissed the top of her head. She let out a breath. "Rachel?" Rachel hummed in response. "Rachel we need to get you home?" Rachel groaned. "Come on Rachel. It's late. I want to spend more time with you too, but I need to get you home."

"No," Rachel whined.

"Please baby."

The term of endearment was Rachel's undoing. She pushed herself up off of Quinn so that she was hovering just inches above her. "Fine," she gave in. "But can we just stay here for a bit longer?" she pouted. She looked so cute. Rachel knew that she looked cute. She knew that Quinn wouldn't be able to deny her, and she was right.

"Fine, but only a bit longer." Rachel squealed happily and cuddled up close to Quinn once more. She felt Quinn's arms wrap around her, holding her tightly, as though she would never let go. Rachel was convinced that she wouldn't. Rachel felt good. She felt warm. She felt happy and… "I love you." The words seemed to surprise Quinn. She gasped.

"What did you say?"

"I love you."

For a moment, Quinn was quiet. Rachel was afraid that she had said something wrong. It was too soon, too fast. She looked at Quinn, ready to apologize, but she saw that she was smiling. "I love you too."

As promised, they left after a short time. The drive to Rachel's house was fairly silent. Rachel was sleepy. She needed her rest and Quinn insisted that she at least close her eyes during the short ride. They listened to some light music and Rachel sang alone while keeping her promise to rest her eyes. Before she knew it, Quinn was parking outside her house. Quinn got out of the car and opened the door for Rachel. She then escorted her to the door.

The lights inside were off so they could only assume that her dads' were asleep. Despite that, Rachel didn't feel comfortable kissing her 'kind of' girlfriend when they could possibly be spying on her. She just reminded herself that they were going slow and went in for a hug. Rachel whispered another, "I love you," and then said her goodbyes. She watched Quinn leave and once she was out of sight, Rachel went inside and up into her room. She collapsed into bed, a smile on her face. Rachel loved Quinn, and Quinn loved her back.

* * *

AN: I'm going to assume that most if not all of you enjoyed this chapter. I could have waited a bit longer before Quinn and Rachel got together, and I was seriously considering it, but in the previous chapters it was already pretty clear that Quinn has a thing for Rachel, and not to mention that I am planning this specific chapter that is going to up the rating. But of course that chapter won't happen until after Quinn and Rachel are together.

In other news, thanks you for your suggestions for shows on Netflix. If any of you still have ideas I'd really appreciate them, although I probably should have mentioned that I have no interest in shows that take place in a hospital (Being Human is an exception to that... kind of, since they only work at the hospital and yeah)

But anyway, I decided to check out that show "Faking It" and I'm not really sure what to think. I don't even know how I found out about it, but once I did I knew that it would likely be offensive, but I like the idea of a show where being gay is something that isn't just 'tolerated' but celebrated. It's kind of unrealistic though and this is coming from someone who lives in a city with a prominent gay community. Regardless, since it's apparently only eight episodes I'll probably watch the whole season. And I do like Amy.

And to end this fairly long Author's Note I just want to say that I will be focusing most of my free time for the following month on Faberry Week. Sadly, that means less time to work on this. Hopefully, the ending of this chapter will sate you for a while. I'm sorry.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Okay, so apparently I lied. I really was planning on working on Faberry Week this month but instead I found myself working on this. I am nearly done on one piece for Faberry Week and have have started work on two others but I'm still not sure how many of the themes I'll actually do.

Now, there were a couple of people that didn't like the "I love you"s in the previous chapter. Admittedly, it does feel a bit too fast and I'll also admit that subconsciously I may have added that to tide readers over as I didn't think I'd have another update up for a while. Despite that I will, to the best of my ability, develop Faberry in a realistic fashion.

Also, Achele! (if you don't know what I'm taking about then check out my new avatar) Oh the feels! It hurts so good!

* * *

Normally, Rachel was the kind of person who would take chances. She didn't like the idea of looking back on her life and wondering, 'what if?' Despite that though, she didn't actually take that chance with Quinn when given the opportunity. She had gotten shy and scared, and even worse she had another chance; a chance to ask Quinn out. It would have been the perfect time expect for the small fact that she would have preferred to fully plan out her first date with Quinn.

Rachel had already gone through several scenarios of how their first date would go. She wanted everything to be perfect. That's what Quinn deserved and what she wanted. Well, she wanted the date part at least and Rachel could only guess that she'd want it to be perfect too. And so the moment Rachel got up she decided to call Quinn and properly ask her out. She had one teeny tiny problem though. Rachel didn't have Quinn's number.

They had spent a good amount of time together since that time that Quinn had taken care of her, but most of that time had taken place within school. Aside from the party, the only time that they had been together outside of McKinley was when Quinn had given Rachel a ride home. They weren't really close enough for Rachel to ask for her number, but now that they were kind of together it only seemed fair to have it now.

And there was one quick way she knew how to get it. She got her phone and scrolled down her contacts until she found the number she was looking for. Rachel sent out a call and waited. She heard a groan once it was answered. "Why are you calling me this early?" Noah complained.

"Good morning to you too Noah."

"What's so good about it?"

"Everything," Rachel answered cheerfully, to which Noah grumbled.

"Can you please not be so loud?"

"I'm not being loud. I mean, I know that loud sometimes but I'm not being loud right now and-"

"Rachel!" Noah interrupted. "Can you just get on with it?"

Under most circumstances Rachel would reprimand him, and give him a word or two about how it's rude to interrupt someone when they're talking but Rachel did call him for a reason and she was thankful that he had reminded her of the reason why. "Oh, yes. I was hoping that you could give me Quinn's number."

"What?"

"Quinn's number," Rachel repeated. "I need it so I can-"

"I heard you the first time," Noah interrupted again. "It's just; didn't you say it would be invasion of privacy or something if I gave her number to you?" Rachel was quite impressed that he had remembered that conversation, but even so she really needed Quinn's number.

"That was then and this is now," she said simply. "So can you give it to me?"

"Fine, just leave me alone." He lazily checked his contact list and after some pestering from Rachel he gave her Quinn's number before promptly hanging up and going back to sleep. Immediately Rachel called Quinn, smiling as waited for her to answer. She felt so giddy. Rachel had never asked anyone out before, nor had anyone ever asked her out before. It was exciting and the best part was that she already knew what Quinn's answer would be.

And maybe that took some of the fun out of it, but it also meant that she didn't have to worry about rejection. After a few rings Quinn picked up. "Hello?" she said groggily, but even so her voice sounded as angelic as usual.

"Good morning Quinn. It's me, Rachel. I got your number from Noah, I hope you don't mind."

"Rachel? What are you- What time is it?" she whined cutely.

"Um…" Rachel quickly checked her clock. "It's a quarter past six."

"Six?" Quinn groaned. "Rachel, it's really nice to hear from you but I'm sleepy."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-I'll call back later."

"No," Quinn interrupted before Rachel could hang up. "I'm already awake. It's just I usually try to sleep in on Saturdays. Practice is always so hectic so it's nice to get some rest in when I can," she explained. "It's okay though. What did you call for?" Rachel probably should have expected as much, especially since Noah was still asleep when she had called him, but her excitement had gotten the best of her. She felt bad for waking Quinn, which in turn also made feel bad about waking Noah.

She still considered letting Quinn have her rest, but she wasting time thinking so she decided to go with her original plan. "Well, I was wondering if you're doing anything later… or tomorrow. I just wanted to ask you out… on a date… with me." That could have gone far more eloquently but Rachel had done it; she had asked Quinn out. Quinn giggled.

"That sounds nice."

"Is that a yes?" Again Quinn laughed.

"Yes, that's a yes. You have any particular plans for where you want to take me?"

No, Rachel didn't. She had to come up with something fast. "Well, I was thinking that uh…" Nervously, she started twirling her hair around her finger. She glanced out the window. The sun was bright, the sky clear. There was a light breeze. It looked like a nice day, a perfect day for a... "Picnic! I thought that a picnic would be nice."

"Okay, I like the sound of that. When should I come pick you up?"

"Oh, Quinn. You don't have to do that. I can pick you up. I'll just have to borrow my Daddy's or Papa's car."

"I want to," Quinn insisted.

"Are you sure?" Rachel didn't really want to make Quinn drive to her place, but she did need time to get ready. She'd have to shower and go through her daily routine and then after that she'd have to prepare some food and find the picnic basket and blanket.

"I am. So what time?"

"All right," Rachel resigned. "Around noon should be good."

"Noon it is. I'll see you in a couple of hours. Bye."

"Bye."

Rachel had plenty of time. She jumped out of bed and stretched a bit. Her body was a little sore, no doubt due to the hits she had taken during the game. She hadn't really felt the pain during the party, but that was most likely because she was having such a good time. She massaged her side and then went into her bathroom and quickly hopped into the shower. After that she went through her morning routine before heading to the kitchen to make something for her picnic with Quinn.

The fridge wasn't as stock as Rachel would have liked, but she had enough to work with. She could only hope that Quinn would like what she would end up making. Just to be on the safe side Rachel decided to bring along some strawberries and to bake some cookies for dessert. Rachel knew that Quinn would love them since everyone always did; everyone being Rachel's family as well as Noah and his family.

At some point her dads' woke up. Leroy came into the kitchen and found his daughter hard at work. "What's all this for sweetheart?" he asked, coming over to her and planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Looks good," he commented as she watched her prepare a salad.

"It's not for you Daddy."

"Oh, then who is it for?"

"A friend," Rachel answered vaguely. "Daddy, do you know where the picnic basket is?"

"I do. Why do you need it?"

"No reason. I just…"

"Does my little girl have a date?" Busted. There was no point in lying. Rachel was a superb actor, but her had those skills didn't work to well when it came to her dads. They knew her too well. Besides, the brief silence that came after his question was enough of an answer. Rachel could just imagine the smile on his face.

"Yes Daddy, I do."

Leroy wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. "Sweetheart, come to the kitchen! Our daughter has something to tell you!" He kissed the top of her head again. In no time Hiram was in the kitchen as well. "Go on pumpkin, tell him."

"I have a date," Rachel said shyly.

"That's great pumpkin." Hiram hugged her too. "So who's the lucky boy?"

"Or girl?" Leroy added.

"Or girl? What's his name, or her name?"

"Quinn… Quinn Fabray."

"Quinn Fabray?" Hiram stroked his chin as he thought. Obviously he remembered the name. "Isn't she the girl who gave you a ride home the other day?"

"Yes Papa, she is. And she's coming by later so I really need to get ready."

"Later you say?" Oh no. "You should invite her in. We'd love to meet the girl that's been able to steal our little girl's heart, wouldn't we?"

"I would."

"Um… okay."

"Great."

Yes, great indeed. Rachel loved her dads of course. They were the best dads that a girl could ever ask for. But they were bound to embarrass her, and possibly even smother Quinn and scare her away. That would be the worst way to start off a first date. Rachel tried not to think about it and concentrated on finishing up her salad. Her dads decided to leave her be for the time being. They already got what they wanted and they could see that she was busy.

It didn't take much longer for Rachel to finish, but even when she was Rachel decided to hide out in the kitchen until Quinn arrived. She didn't want to answer every question that her dads had thought of since they found out that she had a date. Hours later the doorbell rang and Rachel ran for it. "I'll get it!" she yelled. She darted for the front door but her dads got there first.

"You must be Quinn."

"Yes I am."

"I'm Hiram and this is my husband Leroy. It's a pleasure to meet you. Come on inside."

"Thank you. It's nice to meet both of you as well."

Hiram and Leroy brought Quinn into the living room and Rachel immediately followed. She had to make sure that they didn't do that might embarrass her; Rachel did a good enough job of that by herself. "Oh, here's our little girl. She's been the kitchen all morning long. You must be really important to her." Quinn smiled shyly, her cheeks reddening slightly. "We should get a picture of you two. Now come on pumpkin, go over and sit next to your lovely date."

Rachel could do nothing oblige their request. Her only hope was that they could make a quick getaway afterwards. She sat next to Quinn and her Daddy got up to get the camera. While he was gone her Papa picked up a book that was lying on the couch and walked over to two of them. "My husband and I were just looking over photo album," he said as he opened it up. Rachel could do nothing but watch on in horror as dozens of her baby pictures were laid out in front of them.

"Oh my God!" Quinn squealed. "Is that Rachel? She's so cute!"

"That's her all right; most beautiful baby girl that I've ever seen."

They flipped through a few pages before Leroy came back. He took a couple of pictures and once he was done Rachel decided to make a hasty exit. "We should really get going," she said as she took Quinn's hand. Her dads didn't argue, and before they could change their minds Rachel dragged Quinn to the kitchen where they grabbed the picnic basket before quickly exiting the house. Rachel was mortified, but she knew that things could have gone far worse.

"Your dads' seem nice," Quinn commented.

"They are."

"So where are you planning on us having this picnic?"

"There's this park nearby. It's a nice enough day so I thought we'd just walk if you don't mind."

"No, that sounds like a great idea." She briefly let go of Rachel's hand so she could interlace their fingers. "Lead the way." The park that Rachel mentioned was only a few blocks away. It was nice and well taken care of and even had a couple of picnic tables that could easily use. Rachel though preferred using the picnic blanket. After a short walk they were there and soon later they found a perfect spot that had a decent amount of shade.

Quinn set the blanket while Rachel started unpacking some of the food that she had prepared for their lunch. "I wasn't really sure what you'd like so I made a lot of different things, I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all." Quinn helped her unpack and once they were done she had a small frown on her face. "There's no meat here," she said simply.

"Um… no. I'm vegan and… oh. I messed up, didn't I?"

"No, no," Quinn assured. "No, you didn't. This all looks lovely, it does. I'm sorry, it's just I was kind of for a BLT, or that is to say that I was kind of hoping for some bacon. But this looks great Rachel, it really does."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now come one, let's eat."

Rachel didn't argue any further and as they ate she noticed that Quinn genuinely enjoyed the food that she had prepared. She especially loved the cookies. She stuffed her mouth with them. It was really cute to watch. Despite Quinn's rule, Rachel couldn't help herself. She just had to kiss her. Her lips tasted like snickerdoodle. Rachel licked her own as she pulled back. "I'm sorry. I know you said no kisses."

"It's okay. I didn't mind." Quinn kissed her back. "You still have any more cookies?"


End file.
